Judgement
by Emerald Embers
Summary: There was him, and then there was him-him, and deciding between the two was always going to be difficult for Glitch. Wyatt Cain/Glitch


People liked to say Wyatt Cain was a hard man to know, but that wasn't entirely true. He was easy to know; understanding him was the only tricky part, and that worked out perfectly well for Glitch all things considered he wasn't _expected_ to understand Cain. He was very good at making guesses about him though, had started to practise guessing after he first realised his brain didn't like to remember answers, and Cain didn't seem to mind Glitch's attempts. At least, he didn't correct them as quickly or as harshly as he did other people's.

Cain didn't often offer his opinions up beyond whether someone was worth trusting or a situation was more suicidal than necessary, but he made exceptions for Glitch in this too. The effort at conversation was an effort Glitch appreciated, particularly on this occasion once he remembered why he was sitting on the floor, staring up at the missing part of his brain.

"You thinking about what'll happen if they put your brain back in?"

Glitch thought about it and nodded. "I'm just thinking - that's me in there. But it isn't me-me, you know? It's another me." Glitch hugged his knees to his chest. "And I like me-me. I don't know if I like me. Does that make sense?"

"Surprisingly, yes," Cain replied, sitting down next to him and stretching out his legs. Glitch looked at him, the pale hair and strange eyes and kind mouth, and quite forgot what he had been going to say or if, indeed, he had been going to say anything.

Cain gave him the "You're staring" stare, and Glitch looked away, cleared his throat.

"I just think that - it's Ambrose in there, and I'm Glitch, and what if Ambrose doesn't like all the Glitch parts of me? I wanted my brain back but I thought it would be my brain, you know? Not someone else's."

"You're allowed to change your mind," Cain said, reaching up and tapping Glitch's zipper. "No pun intended. No one's saying you have to do it."

"They're all thinking it."

Cain made a non-committal sound as he looked down at his boots, Glitch's eyes following his in case he could figure out what was so interesting about them. "Ambrose didn't save me from hypothermia," Cain said after a moment. "That was you."

"I saved you from hypothermia?" Glitch said, genuinely surprised for a moment before remembering dragging Cain into the wagon, and a blur of panic and lots of hugging. He blushed after another moment's thought, fairly certain the ideas that came to mind after remembering the hugging were not memories at all. "That was very sensible of me."

"I don't know what we would do without your sense," Cain said, and Glitch was hard pressed to tell if he was being sarcastic or just telling the truth in a very Cain sort of way.

"I'm not that bad with a half-empty head, am I?" Glitch asked, hoping for confirmation in a way he didn't fully understand. "I do quite well."

"I'm not going to tell you what to do," Cain said, a little stern, but allowing Glitch to uncurl and lean over to rest his head in Cain's lap.

"I wish someone would. I'm not very good at making decisions."

"You're not so bad."

Glitch smiled when he felt a strong hand start petting his hair. "I could always wait. It's just a brain, isn't it? It's not going to run away while I'm not looking."

"No. Though I'm sure if any brain could, yours would be the first." Glitch didn't need to look to know Cain was smiling, relaxed a little more. Cain's smiles were rare, and Glitch liked being one of the few who got to be around for them.

"And it's not cowardice, is it? It's a big decision. Being, er, hesitant, that's normal."

Cain tightened his grip on Glitch's hair, and Glitch followed as he was pulled up by his curls, shifting onto his hands and knees and laughing nervously as Cain's free hand caught him by the chin. "I know cowards. You're not one of them."

"Oh," Glitch said, suddenly aware that he was very close to Cain's mouth and very keen to get closer. "That's good."

So he did. Cain's lips were as generous as they looked, and Glitch shut his eyes, let himself get lost in the kiss. There were many places he'd been lost before, and this was easily the best. He wondered if he'd been lost there before, or just thought about it often enough to get confused; either way, kissing was a lot better in practise than in theory, all wet heat and constantly surprising give and take.

Cain pulled away three times, changing his mind after each break and kissing Glitch a little longer every time he did, before finally giving Glitch's hands and knees a rest on the fourth break, easing him back down into his lap.

"I think I'll, I'll wait," Glitch said, grinning wide. "I like being me a lot right now."

Cain said nothing in reply, but his laugh was commentary enough.


End file.
